Lehigh County Teacher Benefits Above Average, Study Shows

Teachers in Lehigh County are paid similarly to other professionals in the community, and if their benefits are considered, they do much better, according to a study released yesterday.

On average, the county's teachers earn $41,120 -- 4.3 percent higher than other professionals, who make an average of $39,412, the study by the Pennsylvania Economy League said.

When benefits are considered, teachers receive an average $55,327 annually -- 10.9 percent higher than other professionals, who get $49,875, the report says.

The findings were attacked immediately by representatives of the state's teachers union group -- the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Members sat quietly in the back of the room during the press conference at the Carbon-Lehigh Intermediate Unit building in Schnecksville and then spoke to the media outside.

The report is released as five of the six Lehigh County School Boards that ordered it are in the midst of teacher contract negotiations, which are already on rocky paths. Districts negotiating are East Penn, Catasauqua, Southern Lehigh, Parkland and Whitehall-Coplay. They have hired one lawyer to represent them.

Allentown, which will open negotiations with its teachers next year, also participated in the study.

The study, which compares salaries, benefits and working conditions of Lehigh County teachers with those of professionals at 20 local businesses, is the second of its kind in the state. The economy league first studied teacher salaries in York County a year ago at School Boards' requests and came up with findings similar to those in the Lehigh County study.

Several teacher strikes followed the release of that report as school boards fought to keep raises low.

"I think it shows that teachers are well paid," Kem Katz, a member of the Parkland School Board, said of the study.

"For years, we heard teachers were underpaid, and I don't think that's true anymore."

School Board representatives said the findings justify the five School Boards' only salary offer to teachers unions so far this year: a 1.8 percent raise.

Each School Board paid up to $6,250 for the study.

PSEA representatives said they were so sure the Lehigh County study would show the same flaws as a study that the economy league did on teacher salaries in York County that they wrote the response before the news conference. They handed a typed news release to reporters, calling the report "a ploy to frustrate bargaining."

The teacher union officials said they were not permitted to see the report before the press conference.

"We were right," said Mary Pat Fritz, a PSEA field representative. "We raised all of our concerns about the York study and they did not make any adjustments."

The study did not include supervisory positions in the private sector and failed to account for the stress and challenge teachers face in trying to motivate students, PSEA representatives said.

"I supervise 135 kids each day," said Jerry Dougherty, president of the East Penn teachers' union and spokesman for the county teacher unions. "Why shouldn't that be considered supervisory?"

PSEA officials also criticized the report for failing to consider years of experience of private sector employees -- data that economy league officials said businesses were not asked to provide for the Lehigh County study.

David Wynne, of the economy league, said the league considered PSEA's concerns and decided, "There was almost nothing in there that had any validity."

The study points out that teachers are actually compensated at a much higher rate than other professionals if their work schedule is considered. Teachers work an average 186.7 days a year, compared to 232.8 days for other professionals. Teachers get summers and the Christmas holidays off.

If teachers' salaries and benefits were based on the 232 days, their compensation would be more than $17,000 -- or 36 percent higher -- than other professionals.

Teachers earn $233.78 a day, 28.9 percent higher than the private sector, the study shows. And in 1991, teachers' pay increases were more than twice those of the private sector, according to the report.

The study used data from 20 Lehigh Valley companies or educational institutions covering 4,153 employees. All nine school districts in the county and their 2,424 professional positions were included.